The Teen Titans Go!…on a road trip. Comic artist Gabriel Picolo celebrated the start of summer with a series of illustrations featuring the Titans driving across America to visit Bumblebee, catching up with some familiar faces along the way. For fans of his and Kami Garcia’s Teen Titans graphic novels, or fans of the Titans in general, this “side story” is a delightful gift.

Posted to Instagram, Piccolo also asks for some road trip playlist recommendations. It’s appropriate to the pictures, which show everyone having a very musical time on the road (except for Raven). While the Titans get up to plenty of action and heroics, this set of illustrations shows a more casual side of the team.

They’re driving a pretty average car, singing along to songs, and Beast Boy blushes when Raven falls asleep on him. When the gang makes a pit stop to get gas, they also hit a nearby billiards’ hall, where some familiar villainous faces are also hanging out.

In Picolo’s Art, the Titans Get a Chance to Be Teens

DC’s Teen Titans Graphic Novels Feature the Fan-Favorite Roster from the Teen Titans Cartoon

As a comment from user grave_grown_tea points out, this is a “completely unnecessary road trip. Like half the people could just fly there, so they’re just keeping Robin company.” However, the Titans in Garcia and Picolo’s series are just as much young adults as they are superheroes; it makes sense that the young heroes would band together for a classic, cross-country road trip in an old car. Simply teleporting or speeding through the sky doesn’t give the team a lot of chances to argue over the aux cord, grab rest-stop snacks, or have unexpected encounters with Terra and Slade at a random bar.

The background of the billiards’ hall also has some Easter eggs for eagle-eyed fans courtesy of Picolo. There’s a poster advertising a Puffy AmiYumi concert: the real-life Japanese pop duo that performed the opening theme song to the 2003 Teen Titans series. The TV behind the Titans warns viewers of a wanted criminal on the loose: Terra, a superpowered frenemy of the team. Also behind them, in-person, is Terra, who wears the classic baseball cap disguise. She’s there with Slade, who frequently tries to control Terra and the Titans under H.I.V.E.

This Teen Titans Lineup Is About Friendship and Love

Panel from Teen Titans: Robin by Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo

While the Teen Titans have had a lot of different lineups over the decades, the group from these illustrations is the same five as the Cartoon Network series: Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, and Cyborg. They deal with issues of adolescence and emotional drama in addition to superpowers, fleshing out the characters while still keeping up the action and excitement. For anyone not yet following Picolo on Instagram, his account is full of great illustrations of the group hanging out together, their camaraderie felt through the screen. This set of Teen Titans get to be exist as both teens and titans.

Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo’s Teen Titans graphic novels are available now from DC Comics.

Source: Gabriel Picolo